Walking just 4,000 daily steps once a week cuts risk of early death in older people, study suggests

"Older people who onlywalk 4,000 daily steps once a week still reduce their risk of dying early by a quarter, a study suggests. Staying active is known to bring a wide range of health benefits. But many people in their 60s, 70s and beyond may struggle for a variety of reasons to maintain the step count they used to reach. Until now it has been unclear how much people need to do as they age to reap the rewards."

"The large prospective study examined not only how many steps older people took but how often they reached step targets across the week. Researchers found achieving 4,000 steps per day on one or two days a week was associated with a significantly lower risk of death and lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), compared with not reaching this level on any day. The findings were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The study followed 13,547 American women over 62, with 72 the average age. They wore activity trackers for seven consecutive days between 2011 and 2015 and were followed for over a decade."

"None had heart disease or cancer at the start of the study. In the monitoring period to the end of 2024, 1,765 women died and 781 developed heart disease. Clocking up at least 4,000 steps a day on one or two days of the week was associated with a 26% lower risk of death from all causes and a 27% lower risk of dying from heart disease, compared with not reaching this threshold on any day of the week. For those achieving this step count on at least three days of the week, the lower risk of death from any cause increased to 40%, but remained at 27% for the risk of cardiovascular death. The researchers said the important takeaway was that it is the amount people walk, rather than the number of days on which they achieve a certain number of steps, that is most important for reducing the risk of premature death. There is no best way to take your steps, they added. The key thing is just to get your steps"

13,547 American women aged over 62 (average 72) wore activity trackers for seven consecutive days between 2011 and 2015 and were followed through to the end of 2024. During follow-up, 1,765 women died and 781 developed heart disease. Achieving at least 4,000 steps on one or two days per week correlated with a 26% lower all-cause mortality and a 27% lower cardiovascular mortality versus reaching zero days. Achieving 4,000+ steps on three or more days increased all-cause mortality reduction to 40%, while cardiovascular death reduction remained 27%. Total amount walked, rather than frequency of days, most strongly associated with lower premature death risk.

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